I thought I would be able to improve my GPA in the second semester of 1L, but it dropped from a 3.1 to a 2.97 and my school has a B+(3.3) curve. I currently go to a T30 and i'm an AA URM...should I drop out?

Do you have any summer employment lined up? What's going to be your debt load? If you have a good summer gig and will have minimal debt, there's no harm staying. However, if you're looking at $150K+ in debt with minimal job prospects, it would be wise to bail. That said, do you actually want to be a lawyer, or would you be ok doing something else?

rwhyAn wrote:Do you have any summer employment lined up? What's going to be your debt load? If you have a good summer gig and will have minimal debt, there's no harm staying. However, if you're looking at $150K+ in debt with minimal job prospects, it would be wise to bail. That said, do you actually want to be a lawyer, or would you be ok doing something else?

I have an inn-house internship with a F50 company this summer in the city I want to practice law. I ended up getting a 50% scholarship, so i'll end up with around 90k in debt if I stick around for three years.

I actually really want to be an attorney, but I want to do transactional work, and I don't know if this would even be possible with my abysmal GPA.

You probably should have dropped out before you got your second semester grades so you could start 1l over elsewhere. But yeah, you should drop out. You aren't getting a transactional job from a t30 with a below 3.0 gpa.

grades?? wrote:You probably should have dropped out before you got your second semester grades so you could start 1l over elsewhere. But yeah, you should drop out. You aren't getting a transactional job from a t30 with a below 3.0 gpa.

Yeah, your right. I honestly thought I would be able to at least get my GPA around median, but it didn't happen. I have no idea what I will be able to do if I drop out though...my undergrad major is in Political Science so it's not like I have a marketable degree.

grades?? wrote:You probably should have dropped out before you got your second semester grades so you could start 1l over elsewhere. But yeah, you should drop out. You aren't getting a transactional job from a t30 with a below 3.0 gpa.

Yeah, your right. I honestly thought I would be able to at least get my GPA around median, but it didn't happen. I have no idea what I will be able to do if I drop out though...my undergrad major is in Political Science so it's not like I have a marketable degree.

Go work on a campaign. If you are of the democratic persuasion, you can find a job in pretty much any district/state right now on campaigns. Go do that. The pay is awful for the first year but if you start now, by the midterms you might have carved yourself out a nice niche.

grades?? wrote:You probably should have dropped out before you got your second semester grades so you could start 1l over elsewhere. But yeah, you should drop out. You aren't getting a transactional job from a t30 with a below 3.0 gpa.

Yeah, your right. I honestly thought I would be able to at least get my GPA around median, but it didn't happen. I have no idea what I will be able to do if I drop out though...my undergrad major is in Political Science so it's not like I have a marketable degree.

Go work on a campaign. If you are of the democratic persuasion, you can find a job in pretty much any district/state right now on campaigns. Go do that. The pay is awful for the first year but if you start now, by the midterms you might have carved yourself out a nice niche.

I am actually waiting on two more grades. Should I still drop out if I can get my GPA up to at least a 3.0? I'm trying to be as realistic as possible about my options because I know that going to law school is a risky investment if you don't go to a t14.

grades?? wrote:You probably should have dropped out before you got your second semester grades so you could start 1l over elsewhere. But yeah, you should drop out. You aren't getting a transactional job from a t30 with a below 3.0 gpa.

Yeah, your right. I honestly thought I would be able to at least get my GPA around median, but it didn't happen. I have no idea what I will be able to do if I drop out though...my undergrad major is in Political Science so it's not like I have a marketable degree.

Go work on a campaign. If you are of the democratic persuasion, you can find a job in pretty much any district/state right now on campaigns. Go do that. The pay is awful for the first year but if you start now, by the midterms you might have carved yourself out a nice niche.

I am actually waiting on two more grades. Should I still drop out if I can get my GPA up to at least a 3.0? I'm trying to be as realistic as possible about my options because I know that going to law school is a risky investment if you don't go to a t14.

Even if you get to a 3.0, so what? You are at the bottom of your class at a t30 and you wont get a sniff of biglaw. Honestly I would walk down to the admin right now and ask if you can drop out and not have any of the spring grades reported because you don't have all of them yet. Beg if you have to. Whether or not you have a 2.97 or a 3.02 isn't going to make any difference. But if you can not report your second semester grades, then you have a chance of retaking the lsat, getting into a t13, and having a head start on your classmates down the road.

But seriously you are an AA that is obviously intelligent enough to get into a t30 law school. Campaigns would love to have you. I truthfully rather be doing grassroots campaign stuff right now than law school.

grades?? wrote:You probably should have dropped out before you got your second semester grades so you could start 1l over elsewhere. But yeah, you should drop out. You aren't getting a transactional job from a t30 with a below 3.0 gpa.

Yeah, your right. I honestly thought I would be able to at least get my GPA around median, but it didn't happen. I have no idea what I will be able to do if I drop out though...my undergrad major is in Political Science so it's not like I have a marketable degree.

Go work on a campaign. If you are of the democratic persuasion, you can find a job in pretty much any district/state right now on campaigns. Go do that. The pay is awful for the first year but if you start now, by the midterms you might have carved yourself out a nice niche.

I am actually waiting on two more grades. Should I still drop out if I can get my GPA up to at least a 3.0? I'm trying to be as realistic as possible about my options because I know that going to law school is a risky investment if you don't go to a t14.

Even if you get to a 3.0, so what? You are at the bottom of your class at a t30 and you wont get a sniff of biglaw. Honestly I would walk down to the admin right now and ask if you can drop out and not have any of the spring grades reported because you don't have all of them yet. Beg if you have to. Whether or not you have a 2.97 or a 3.02 isn't going to make any difference. But if you can not report your second semester grades, then you have a chance of retaking the lsat, getting into a t13, and having a head start on your classmates down the road.

But seriously you are an AA that is obviously intelligent enough to get into a t30 law school. Campaigns would love to have you. I truthfully rather be doing grassroots campaign stuff right now than law school.

I really appreciate your honesty. I guess it's time to accept my grades and move on from law school.

grades?? wrote:You probably should have dropped out before you got your second semester grades so you could start 1l over elsewhere. But yeah, you should drop out. You aren't getting a transactional job from a t30 with a below 3.0 gpa.

Yeah, your right. I honestly thought I would be able to at least get my GPA around median, but it didn't happen. I have no idea what I will be able to do if I drop out though...my undergrad major is in Political Science so it's not like I have a marketable degree.

Go work on a campaign. If you are of the democratic persuasion, you can find a job in pretty much any district/state right now on campaigns. Go do that. The pay is awful for the first year but if you start now, by the midterms you might have carved yourself out a nice niche.

I am actually waiting on two more grades. Should I still drop out if I can get my GPA up to at least a 3.0? I'm trying to be as realistic as possible about my options because I know that going to law school is a risky investment if you don't go to a t14.

Even if you get to a 3.0, so what? You are at the bottom of your class at a t30 and you wont get a sniff of biglaw. Honestly I would walk down to the admin right now and ask if you can drop out and not have any of the spring grades reported because you don't have all of them yet. Beg if you have to. Whether or not you have a 2.97 or a 3.02 isn't going to make any difference. But if you can not report your second semester grades, then you have a chance of retaking the lsat, getting into a t13, and having a head start on your classmates down the road.

But seriously you are an AA that is obviously intelligent enough to get into a t30 law school. Campaigns would love to have you. I truthfully rather be doing grassroots campaign stuff right now than law school.

I really appreciate your honesty. I guess it's time to accept my grades and move on from law school.

Sorry it didn't work out, but its better to admit this early on than waste more years and more money for something you don't want.

Edit: I would still try to talk to the admin to get your second semester grades not reported. At least try this. But best of luck in the future. There are jobs out there for political science majors, just gonna have to start low on the ladder.

Assuming the summer gig pays decently, I'd stick around for that and gauge long-term employment prospects with that company. If it looks like a dead end, just bail. It doesn't make a difference if you drop out now or just before tuition is due.

I graduated last year from a school in your similar range. It definitely took some people through graduation and bar passage but almost everyone I know ultimately got some type of legal job. My school's 2016 graduating class though has a 78% LST employment score with only 10% under-employment. If you're at a similar school that places well in your local market I think you could consider sticking it out. $90k debt won't be fun to pay back but it isn't financial suicide either. If you think you really want to be a lawyer and will be willing to hustle later on, I might consider staying.

Edit: Also just saw you said you wanted to do transactional work. I thought I did too, but ended up somewhere doing litigation and I don't mind it. But if you know you don't like litigation, then that would weigh on the scale towards dropping out. I agree landing a transactional gig is unlikely at this point.

lawhopeful100 wrote:I graduated last year from a school in your similar range. It definitely took some people through graduation and bar passage but almost everyone I know ultimately got some type of legal job. My school's 2016 graduating class though has a 78% LST employment score with only 10% under-employment. If you're at a similar school that places well in your local market I think you could consider sticking it out. $90k debt won't be fun to pay back but it isn't financial suicide either. If you think you really want to be a lawyer and will be willing to hustle later on, I might consider staying.

Edit: Also just saw you said you wanted to do transactional work. I thought I did too, but ended up somewhere doing litigation and I don't mind it. But if you know you don't like litigation, then that would weigh on the scale towards dropping out. I agree landing a transactional gig is unlikely at this point.

Would a compliance gig after law school also be unlikely with my current GPA?

lawhopeful100 wrote:I graduated last year from a school in your similar range. It definitely took some people through graduation and bar passage but almost everyone I know ultimately got some type of legal job. My school's 2016 graduating class though has a 78% LST employment score with only 10% under-employment. If you're at a similar school that places well in your local market I think you could consider sticking it out. $90k debt won't be fun to pay back but it isn't financial suicide either. If you think you really want to be a lawyer and will be willing to hustle later on, I might consider staying.

Edit: Also just saw you said you wanted to do transactional work. I thought I did too, but ended up somewhere doing litigation and I don't mind it. But if you know you don't like litigation, then that would weigh on the scale towards dropping out. I agree landing a transactional gig is unlikely at this point.

Would a compliance gig after law school also be unlikely with my current GPA?

grades?? wrote:You probably should have dropped out before you got your second semester grades so you could start 1l over elsewhere. But yeah, you should drop out. You aren't getting a transactional job from a t30 with a below 3.0 gpa.

Yeah, your right. I honestly thought I would be able to at least get my GPA around median, but it didn't happen. I have no idea what I will be able to do if I drop out though...my undergrad major is in Political Science so it's not like I have a marketable degree.

Go work on a campaign. If you are of the democratic persuasion, you can find a job in pretty much any district/state right now on campaigns. Go do that. The pay is awful for the first year but if you start now, by the midterms you might have carved yourself out a nice niche.

I am actually waiting on two more grades. Should I still drop out if I can get my GPA up to at least a 3.0? I'm trying to be as realistic as possible about my options because I know that going to law school is a risky investment if you don't go to a t14.

Even if you get to a 3.0, so what? You are at the bottom of your class at a t30 and you wont get a sniff of biglaw. Honestly I would walk down to the admin right now and ask if you can drop out and not have any of the spring grades reported because you don't have all of them yet. Beg if you have to. Whether or not you have a 2.97 or a 3.02 isn't going to make any difference. But if you can not report your second semester grades, then you have a chance of retaking the lsat, getting into a t13, and having a head start on your classmates down the road.

But seriously you are an AA that is obviously intelligent enough to get into a t30 law school. Campaigns would love to have you. I truthfully rather be doing grassroots campaign stuff right now than law school.

I really appreciate your honesty. I guess it's time to accept my grades and move on from law school.

Sorry it didn't work out, but its better to admit this early on than waste more years and more money for something you don't want.

Edit: I would still try to talk to the admin to get your second semester grades not reported. At least try this. But best of luck in the future. There are jobs out there for political science majors, just gonna have to start low on the ladder.

This is ridiculous trolling, right? Like, OP will still be able to find a job, it just won't be as easy. They're graduating with minimal debt, and if they have nothing to fall back into what can they do? They've demonstrated they can get a paid internship with their grades, therefore they appear competent enough to hustle and get a job post grad.

Dude, do not drop out of law school solely based on what you hear from TLS. I have a feeling that you would be happy doing something besides transactional work. I mean, did you really go to law school with the sole intent of being a transactional attorney and nothing else? Doubtful. Now, if you hate the law, that's a different story.

These posts are dumb. Do you want to be a lawyer or not? Do you want $90,000 in debt or not?

I graduated with a gpa below 3.0 and was Bottom 50% from a Top 30 and landed Big Law as a Summer Associate and post-graduation at a different firm. I started my career doing transactional work (which is boring as fuck), then worked to a non-Big law firm litigation boutique so I could get litigation experience. Three years after graduation, I am now looking to lateral to a larger firm for more money. My experience has landed me interviews at Big Law, Mid Law, and ShitLaw. Do I still face opstacles when I apply to Big Law firms, absolutely. But you can still make $100,000 or more 3 years out if you try. You just need to gain experience your first 2 years.

I think you should take the "you must drop out" posts with a grain of salt. Not everyone has to do big law transactional, not everyone gets to do big law at all. It's not the end of the world. Also, 90k in debt is not the end of the world in my opinion. But you need to decide if you like the law, if you're okay with accepting a lit gig, and if you're geographically flexible.

sparty99 wrote:These posts are dumb. Do you want to be a lawyer or not? Do you want $90,000 in debt or not?

I graduated with a gpa below 3.0 and was Bottom 50% from a Top 30 and landed Big Law as a Summer Associate and post-graduation at a different firm. I started my career doing transactional work (which is boring as fuck), then worked to a non-Big law firm litigation boutique so I could get litigation experience. Three years after graduation, I am now looking to lateral to a larger firm for more money. My experience has landed me interviews at Big Law, Mid Law, and ShitLaw. Do I still face opstacles when I apply to Big Law firms, absolutely. But you can still make $100,000 or more 3 years out if you try. You just need to gain experience your first 2 years.

Most people situated simiarly to you will never work as a lawyer. Many of the rest of those who do will have shit jobs.

YOU ARE THE EXCEPTION. HOLY SHIT

Its so reckless and stupid to encourage people to chase the exception without at least ADMITTING HOW RISKY A PROPOSITION IT IS.

I say this myself an exception. I coped bigfed with laughably bad credentials. But I know it was luck and networking. Not some rose colored horse shit

sparty99 wrote:These posts are dumb. Do you want to be a lawyer or not? Do you want $90,000 in debt or not?

I graduated with a gpa below 3.0 and was Bottom 50% from a Top 30 and landed Big Law as a Summer Associate and post-graduation at a different firm. I started my career doing transactional work (which is boring as fuck), then worked to a non-Big law firm litigation boutique so I could get litigation experience. Three years after graduation, I am now looking to lateral to a larger firm for more money. My experience has landed me interviews at Big Law, Mid Law, and ShitLaw. Do I still face opstacles when I apply to Big Law firms, absolutely. But you can still make $100,000 or more 3 years out if you try. You just need to gain experience your first 2 years.

Most people situated simiarly to you will never work as a lawyer. Many of the rest of those who do will have shit jobs.

YOU ARE THE EXCEPTION. HOLY SHIT

Its so reckless and stupid to encourage people to chase the exception without at least ADMITTING HOW RISKY A PROPOSITION IT IS.

I say this myself an exception. I coped bigfed with laughably bad credentials. But I know it was luck and networking. Not some rose colored horse shit

I'm not the exception. 50% of law students practice law. Even if you work at a firm paying $50k , its not like you are gonna make that forever. You move up. Then move up again. Then move up again.

sparty99 wrote:These posts are dumb. Do you want to be a lawyer or not? Do you want $90,000 in debt or not?

I graduated with a gpa below 3.0 and was Bottom 50% from a Top 30 and landed Big Law as a Summer Associate and post-graduation at a different firm. I started my career doing transactional work (which is boring as fuck), then worked to a non-Big law firm litigation boutique so I could get litigation experience. Three years after graduation, I am now looking to lateral to a larger firm for more money. My experience has landed me interviews at Big Law, Mid Law, and ShitLaw. Do I still face opstacles when I apply to Big Law firms, absolutely. But you can still make $100,000 or more 3 years out if you try. You just need to gain experience your first 2 years.

Most people situated simiarly to you will never work as a lawyer. Many of the rest of those who do will have shit jobs.

YOU ARE THE EXCEPTION. HOLY SHIT

Its so reckless and stupid to encourage people to chase the exception without at least ADMITTING HOW RISKY A PROPOSITION IT IS.

I say this myself an exception. I coped bigfed with laughably bad credentials. But I know it was luck and networking. Not some rose colored horse shit

I'm not the exception. 50% of law students practice law. Even if you work at a firm paying $50k , its not like you are gonna make that forever. You move up. Then move up again. Then move up again.

^agreed.

OP indicated that he wants to be an attorney. The only way to become an attorney is by graduating from law school. BigLaw guys don't make 200-300k forever. Their salary scale down once out of big law, just as the ones that start out from "shitlaw" eventually move up the ladder with experience, or could land a better gig via networking once out in the real world. While BigLaw may seem like a must for those with the typical six-figure debt, with the OP and his relatively low debt figure, he has the luxury to look for other options (lower-paying positions) and still able to afford a decent living. TLS people are intelligent but often short-sighted and EXTREMELY debt-/risk-averse to the point that it often-times sway them away from what could potentially be a rewarding career with enough patience and willingness to work from the bottom.

I'd say the OP continue his education and do everything he can to work his GPA up for the remainder years left at LS and land a "lawyer" job (which shouldn't be too hard considering that he's at T30 (first-tier, regardless). Worry about making six-figures later. His main priority is to get his JD and pass the Bar. Dropping out after 1st year with such a limited debt amount seem like a premature decision.

lawhopeful100 wrote:I graduated last year from a school in your similar range. It definitely took some people through graduation and bar passage but almost everyone I know ultimately got some type of legal job. My school's 2016 graduating class though has a 78% LST employment score with only 10% under-employment. If you're at a similar school that places well in your local market I think you could consider sticking it out. $90k debt won't be fun to pay back but it isn't financial suicide either. If you think you really want to be a lawyer and will be willing to hustle later on, I might consider staying.

Edit: Also just saw you said you wanted to do transactional work. I thought I did too, but ended up somewhere doing litigation and I don't mind it. But if you know you don't like litigation, then that would weigh on the scale towards dropping out. I agree landing a transactional gig is unlikely at this point.

Would a compliance gig after law school also be unlikely with my current GPA?

grades?? wrote:You probably should have dropped out before you got your second semester grades so you could start 1l over elsewhere. But yeah, you should drop out. You aren't getting a transactional job from a t30 with a below 3.0 gpa.

Yeah, your right. I honestly thought I would be able to at least get my GPA around median, but it didn't happen. I have no idea what I will be able to do if I drop out though...my undergrad major is in Political Science so it's not like I have a marketable degree.

i wouldnt drop out if you want to be an attorney and are roughly at median at a t30 with a great internship lined up this year. id guess 20% my firms summer class this year have on par or worse credentials than you.

like if you want to be an attorney, how else are you going to get to that goal without a law degree? plus your scholarship is really good.

lawhopeful100 wrote:I graduated last year from a school in your similar range. It definitely took some people through graduation and bar passage but almost everyone I know ultimately got some type of legal job. My school's 2016 graduating class though has a 78% LST employment score with only 10% under-employment. If you're at a similar school that places well in your local market I think you could consider sticking it out. $90k debt won't be fun to pay back but it isn't financial suicide either. If you think you really want to be a lawyer and will be willing to hustle later on, I might consider staying.

Edit: Also just saw you said you wanted to do transactional work. I thought I did too, but ended up somewhere doing litigation and I don't mind it. But if you know you don't like litigation, then that would weigh on the scale towards dropping out. I agree landing a transactional gig is unlikely at this point.

Would a compliance gig after law school also be unlikely with my current GPA?